The way that men cook is such that if it is meat they’re cooking, the fights and disagreements will begin with which place the meat will come from. Should the meat be bought from the supermarket, or should it be bought from the neighborhood boucherie? Generally speaking, supermarkets are the neater and more convenient option, and one would have thought that choosing them over the boucherie would come as the natural option. The men who are against buying their meats from supermarkets have claimed that supermarkets are notorious for selling pondezi as opposed to the real deal. In fact, in the interest of full disclosure, I also hate pondezi with all my heart. This is why I’ve always belonged in team boucherie whenever it comes to meats. Now, although most men clearly prefer their meat from the nearby, not-so-sparkling-clean meat parlor in the neighborhood, the choice of which boucherie to visit is usually another bone of contention, and several considerations will have to be made: Which boucherie serves the best options in terms of freshness and quantity? Which butcher has a faulty or at least suspicious-looking weighing scale? Who gives out free envelopes, and who is likely to throw in an onion or two as bonus for buying from them? Once the meat has been found and brought home, then it’s time to fight over how it will be cooked. Just what is the right size to which to cut down the pieces? And should it be washed first before cooking? I know of a school of thought that insists on not washing the meat before cooking because “it’s already clean” anyway. Besides, washing the meat would strip it of some of its juices. Personally I love to cook too, although I’m not necessarily as obsessed with meat. I love food that is the opposite of meat, and that is Ital. Yes, Ital is vital, but first, you have to know its correct pronunciation. It’s pronounced “eye-tal” and I had to choose that particular word because I’m tired of the term “vegetarian”. That said, the best thing I like about cooking is popping open a can of sardines –something that I have honed into a very fine art. The other thing that I love to cook is rice, and by rice, I mean Tanzanian rice. As far as I’m concerned, rice that is not from Tanzania is not rice.
